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“We are not an expensive steak house,” says Doumet. “We’re a Parisian bistro that’s meant for everybody to enjoy. I wanted to have an offering that’s affordable for people.”

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Entrecôte Restaurant Menu. Photo by Hanna McLean/Postmedia

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For $44, that means a fresh green walnut salad with house vinaigrette, followed by the entrecôte steak-frites with secret sauce and golden hand-cut fries. The bottom of the card notes that desserts can be purchased à la carte and, of course, drinks are separate.

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I wouldn’t call what happened next ordering so much as confirming that I was, indeed, there for the steak frites. I was simply tasked with choosing the doneness of my meat: medium rare. Our server promptly took a pen from their pocket and scribbled a “MR” in a circle on the paper tablecloth in front of me.

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Martini. Photo by Hanna McLean/Postmedia

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A single entrée leaves little room for error, I thought, with a flicker of second-hand nerves that would make you think I was the one manning the grill. When I asked Doumet, over the phone a few days later, about the pressure of nailing a menu this small, she didn’t mince words.

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“I believe that Vancouverites are meat snobs. Like they wouldn’t eat any meat,” she says. Entrecôte’s meat comes by way of Intercity Packers, with Doumet opting for what she considers a superior cut than what is offered in similar dishes in France.

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“We’re always doing strip loins. We try the strip loin AAA and a top strip loin that’s Certified Angus Beef. So we’re always, you know, in this category of Angus AAA.”

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The meat is seasoned simply here, because Doumet says the sauce is meant to be the star of the show. The condiment was something she developed and tested many times at her home with her husband, serving it to friends along the way until she landed on the right combination of flavour and texture.

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“I got inspired again from the initial restaurant in Paris. It’s a very complex sauce to make because it has a lot of ingredients. Some of them bring acidity, some of them bring roundness, some of them bring bitterness. So you have so many different ingredients and each one of them has a role.”

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And that recipe truly is top secret, known only to a trusted few in the kitchen — a detail Doumet guards as closely as the exact ingredients themselves.

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House Bread. Photo by Hanna McLean/Postmedia

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But what’s a steak without the frites? The fries, unlike the sauce, aren’t shrouded in mystery. The Kennebec potatoes are chopped, blanched, fried and given a lightning-fast refry right before they’re served to guests. She says this, combined with a smaller size, achieves the crunchy, golden supporting act for the meat that she was after. And whether you’re a spud enthusiast or not, it’s hard to deny the most attractive feature of these particular fries: they are bottomless.

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As for my experience: service was great, martini strong and wine a-flowing. The steak was solid rather than show-stopping, and the fries could’ve used a touch more crunch. That didn’t stop me from soaking most of them in the house sauce, or leaving room for two desserts, both of which were lovely.

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Butter Lettuce & Walnut Salad. Photo by Hanna McLean/Postmedia

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Doumet doesn’t pretend they’ve nailed it yet. “I want to bring consistency. That’s why we’re only doing one dish, and we’re 80 per cent there,” she says. “We speak with customers, we hear their feedback, and we’re really trying our best.”

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While one main dish presents its own challenges around customer expectations and dependability, Doumet says there are plenty of upsides to a streamlined selection. “The fact that we have one meal, I mean one dish, it gives us a lot of control on how much we should order, how much we are wasting,” she says.

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On a recent Friday, Entrecôte sold 300 steaks. That number has held steady on weekends since, Doumet says, while weekdays have averaged closer to 200.

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Mousse au chocolat. Photo by Hanna McLean/Postmedia

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Vacherins framboise. Photo by Hanna McLean/Postmedia

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The restaurant isn’t currently taking reservations, but that hasn’t deterred people from dining here or popping in for a cheeky dessert and a quick drink. With a wine list of French bottles, B.C. beers and a lineup of six desserts, Doumet says she’s seen plenty of guests looking for a bar seat and a nightcap during Entrecôte’s opening weeks as well.